Hell on Earth
by GrandDuchess25
Summary: Demons are the darkness of the earth incarnate.. The demon hunters have made it their life mission to send these damned creatures back where they belong, Hell. But their everyday life will soon change entirely, and not for the better. Rated M for language and future sexual scenes.. I own none of the Bleach characters. Warnings: ByaRuki AU, slight OOCness, and slight IchiRuki
1. The Hunter

**Hey everyone!**

**GrandDuchess here with a brand new AU! I'm excited to present this to you sooner than I was originally expecting.. This does not mean that The Monster is on Hiatus.. I just had some new ideas that I wanted to write down and it turned into a full on story ^^;**

**Please review for me! I love seeing comments, they make me really happy and I hope they will help me become a better storyteller.**

**Enjoy!**

**`GrandDuchess**

* * *

The smell of sulfur was heavy in the air; it stung to breathe and burned your throat. She could hear it, that nasty snarling in front of her. It was grotesque, the noise and its master. Rummaging through the dumpsters, a black ashen figure leaned down looking for some stray animals. Fierce black claws protruding from bony hands screeched as they scraped the surfaces. Her ears hurt at the piercing sound. A haunting howl could be heard in the distance from a lost cat; the beast's head shot up from the dumpster and looked in the direction of its prey. Its eyes were glowing red as they looked toward her, it couldn't see her… maybe. That was the last thing she needed, an actual fight between her and this thing, the target was directly in front of her, and it had no idea that she had locked on.

The arrow launched from the bow with a twang and hit the beast in between the eyes. A high pitched shrill sent cold shivers down her spine as it pierced the air. The beast fell to the ground with a deafening thud and spasmed as it screamed out its pain and shock. At its last breath, the ember eyes finally faded into nothingness, and its ashen body stilled into silence.

Jumping down from her perch, the girl walked toward the carcass with another purified arrow set on her bow. Her steps were quiet and slow, calculated. The disturbing figure before her was already beginning to rot away. She stood straight and watched as it turned into nothingness, with only sticky black blood left on the concrete ground. She texted her superiors of another mission completed and silently turned away from what was left of the gruesome scene.

While walking down the street her phone started ringing, she halted her steps before answering.

"Hello?"

"RUKIA!" She pulled the phone away from her ear at the loud outburst through the line.

"Hey, Ichigo. What's up?" Her long time friend, Ichigo, was a handful most of the time, but to her, he was the brother she never wanted.

"That's my line. I wanted to know if you were free to hang tonight, I know you've been busy with work lately, and we don't get to hang out anymore!"

"Uhh… I just finished a job so I'm free right now. Want to meet me at the usual spot?"

"Pssh, Yeah! See you there! I'll be there in a half hour!" *click*

Rukia flipped her phone closed and brought it to her jacket pocket and found her keys to her truck. After putting her things in the truck bed she got into the vehicle and started the engine.

The usual spot was just a hole in the wall bar that she frequented mainly because of the lack of prying eyes and eavesdroppers; with the plus side of they made a decent burger. She couldn't have any mundane people knowing what they did, what _she _did. Demons never sat well with the public. People are just too easily frightened, and when people get frightened, they generally start running around like chickens with their heads chopped off.

It never really bothered Rukia that the general public was still in the dark. Sure, it may not be the _right_ thing to do; keeping the secret from everyone else, but it was the easiest. People are simply too ignorant and haughty to handle news like…"That monster under your kids bed? Yeah… it's really there and it's actually an immortal soul sucking demon from the seventh circle of hell that will destroy your entire family without blinking."

Rukia didn't know another life other than hunting… She'd been doing it since she was a child. Since her family was one to fall victim to demons, leaving her an orphan. She didn't become a hunter strictly for vengeance, revenge, or justice, but more for the basic reason of she didn't want anything like what she saw that horrible night to happen to someone else.

Since demons were spiritual beings that thrived on being unknown, many people couldn't see them physically. Children could, and that's why they always have 'unreasonable' fears of their closets or the dark. Most people could feel the presence of an evil spirit, symptoms of that range from goose bumps to hairs standing on the backs of their neck. But generally, people ignore it… saying, "wow, it got so cold just then…" or "Someone is watching me, I just feel it!" and laugh it off in good jest, when in reality it probably is something truly evil gauging how tasty they look or how fun it would be to kill them.

Rukia pulled into the bar's parking lot and parked the powerful truck into a bigger space and killed the engine. She sat there while she waited for Ichigo when her cell chimed.

_New text._ _Blocked sender._

She flipped it open to read it.

'_Acknowledged. Godspeed."_

Typical response from her higher ups. Short, professional.

Never before had she seen any of them. She was only introduced to hunters that were of her rank or lower, like Ichigo. The hierarchy system of her kind consisted of the lower ranks, mid ranks, and first ranks… The lower ranks were called 'Thirds' or 'Rooks'… the Mid ranks, Rukia's class, were called 'Hunters' or 'Exorcists' depending on their specialties… and then came the first ranks, Executioners and Shadow Kings. Incredibly powerful and, rumor had it, some weren't even human. Rukia didn't know, or care. She was assigned a job, she did the job, and that's all she wrote. Rukia liked to keep it simple. Sure, she sometimes wondered who they were, or what they were, but she never pressed; feeling that pushing too hard could end innocent lives. She wasn't stupid. These people were dangerous,_ her_ people were dangerous, and not to be trifled with. The things they saw changed them, in monstrous ways.

You can't trust the demon hunters, because… to kill a monster, you need to be one.

The familiar hot rod pulled into the lot behind her, music blasting out of the speakers and headlights blinding her through her rearview mirror. It pulled in beside Rukia's black truck and she could see the driver with his stupid cocky grin and flaming orange hair.

_'So obnoxious.'_

She got out and headed into the bar with the hot head following her close behind.

* * *

"So how was your last gig?" He asked as he took another swig of beer.

"Precise, clean, minimal effort… the usual… How about yours?" She responded while looking at her own glass. The bubbles seemed to interest her more than the conversation.

"You're so boring Rukia… You should do it like me and have some fun while you're killing the damned things!" He stated enthusiastically… Ichigo always had this weird positive thing that sometimes annoyed Rukia, but, she loved him anyway.

"You didn't answer my question stupid."

"Yeah, yeah… Brash, messy, a lot of physical abuse… the usual." He said with a smirk as he lifted the glass to his lips. Rukia chuckled.

"Have you been getting a lot of tasks?" He asked.

"If 'a lot' means more than usual, than no… on average, about ten a week, mostly lower class scavengers… however tonight I had a shadow to deal with, which was unexpected."

The demons have their own ranking system created by the Hunters. There are thousands of different types of demons, but there's a basic ranking system that makes hunting them less chaotic. Rukia's really only had to deal with the 'foot-soldiers' of demons, which the hunters dubbed in their own slang terms… she didn't know if they had legitimate names from the council, but if they did, it wouldn't make any difference to her anyway.

The most common demons that had to be dealt with were Flockers, Boulders, and Shadows… Flockers, are your basic intelligence monsters that aren't that much of a problem but they can get annoying; a lot of times they stick in groups, they keep strength in numbers. They are a bit stockier, and walk on all fours like a dog with a disgusting looking face. Boulders are just massive; they have an obscene amount of strength, lower intelligence but, their brute strength makes up for it. And Shadows who are sneaky, fast, and clever… They have a thinner physique but they have a nasty bite. Their teeth are razor sharp and their tongue is hot with poisonous saliva dripping off it, if it gets on you, you'll be screaming in pain for a good three hours.

However there is one group that is just plain famous. Night Walkers… Not many hunters have survived a scrimmage with a Walker. If you do, you get promoted to Executioner immediately. No questions asked. Rukia didn't even know what a Night Walker was really like, she had only heard rumors and stories. I guess to sum it up; it's just your typical hellish grotesque monster with god-like abilities.

"Damn… any major problems?" Ichigo pulled her out of her thoughts. He sounded concerned.

"No, just unexpected, clean shot with a purified arrow did the trick… nothing special."

"I would expect nothing less." Ichigo gave her a look of slight pride, she didn't know why, it's not like _he_ had anything to do with her accuracy. Ignoring it, Rukia drank a bit more of her beer and smiled a bit.

She remembered when she first met Ichigo; at the orphanage for the 'special' kids, and by special they meant… 'Your whole family is dead and you will amount to nothing if you don't come here', where the Nuns taught you how to purify weapons instead of learning the alphabet. Well, we learned the alphabet, but it was in Latin.

So she and Ichigo knew each other since a long time. He truly was one of the only ones the Rukia felt like she could trust. Friends just wasn't an interest of Rukia's, they seemed to betray you too much. Rukia and Ichigo's friendship began after he was getting beaten up by one of the older kids, she felt kind of bad that he was getting beaten so badly so she jumped in. He was pissed that she had helped, but he thanked her anyway, saying something about how he owed her and stuff, Rukia wasn't looking for anything in return. Honestly speaking she had wanted to beat the living shit out of that kid anyway, she just needed the reason, and what could she say… the kid was kind of an egotistical dick. The bully didn't amount to anything special, actually he was ripped to shreds by a demon a couple years ago, but Rukia didn't go to his funeral.

"I've been thinking…" Ichigo said with a hand to his chin.

"Don't hurt yourself." Rukia said sarcastically while she looked at him with a grin on her face. She was rewarded an attempted punch to the jaw, she chuckled as she dodged back.

"Hahaha-fuck you." He angrily replied to her comment… but he continued on with his original thought. "As I was saying, before you fucking interrupted me…" Rukia shrugged as he continued. "Have you noticed the major increase in demons? I mean, yeah, we aren't getting called as much, or at least, _I'm_ not. But I've been watching the news and listening to the radio, and I've been hearing a lot of shit happening to the mundanes. You know, horrific murders like, decapitation, unnecessary amputations, brutal maulings, I mean the list goes on."

He was right, Rukia had thought about it before, but she ignored it thinking it was just a jump in media coverage. Nothing serious. But she had _seen_ more demons running around. Running through the streets, clinging to souls, climbing buildings… they were just crawling everywhere. She couldn't exterminate them because she was in a public place and she couldn't make a scene, but it had her worried.

"What do you think is going on?" He asked her, concerned.

"To be completely honest… I have no idea. The other day I saw a horde of demons running through the streets within the public eye, and they set off no alarms. None. At all. If something like that had happened before… this… whatever this is… My phone would have been going off none stop." Rukia was looking right into Ichigo's eyes as she continued. "The council might be slacking, which I find hard to believe."

"We think its Hells Gate."

Rukia's head turned sharply at the unfamiliar voice. Standing there was a man with shoulder length black hair and piercing gray eyes. He was tall and lean, and, incredibly handsome. Rukia shook her head. Where did this guy come from, had he heard their entire conversation? Normally Rukia was incredibly observant when it came to her surroundings, how could she not have seen this guy from behind her?

"And who's 'we'?" Ichigo shot back at the guy. His fists clenched. He looked almost threatened Rukia thought to herself.

"The council." The man looked at Ichigo with boredom, his expression cold. He looked back at Rukia as if expecting her to say something. What did he want her to say?

"Who are you?" She finally asked.

"A representative of the Council." He responded monotonously.

"That much is obvious. But that wasn't my question." Rukia turned toward him in her chair and she leaned a bit on the counter. "Who… are _you?_"

He deliberated a bit before finally answering her.

"Kuchiki Byakuya, I'm what you hunters call… what was it again? Oh, yes, a _Shadow King_." He answered with borderline amusement. Ichigo and Rukia's eyes widened at this confession. Rukia's mouth went dry, and she didn't think more beer would make it better.

"That's complete bullshit." Ichigo said with contempt in his voice as he drank more beer. Rukia however didn't call bullshit. This guy definitely looked like he could be; he had a very regal air about him, almost like he _was_ a king.

"Why are you here? The burgers aren't _that_ good." Rukia acted unaffected as she leaned back in her chair.

"Looking for you actually. I'm here to promote you… personally." He stepped closer to Rukia as he spoke. "It's a high honor, for me to do so personally." Rukia was taken aback.

_'Promotion?_ _What promotion? I didn't do anything to deserve a promotion.'_

"Promoted to what?" She asked him.

"My third ranking officer. You start now, so get up and come with me. Oh and leave the…" He looked outside toward her truck. She followed his gaze. '_Oh_ _no.'_ "Truck…" He finished as he looked back toward her and Ichigo. Ichigo was red in the face as he sat beside her.

"Whoa … wait… My mother told me never to go off with strangers." She stated in humor.

"What mother? Aren't you an orphan?" Byakuya asked her mockingly. Wow, what an ass.

"Just because I'm an orphan doesn't mean I created myself jackass." Rukia looked at him with a smug look. "What? Didn't your mother talk to you about the _Birds and the Bees?_" Rukia said sarcastically. Ichigo was holding his face as he tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle his laughter. Byakuya looked furious in a non-emotional way; which was fascinating that he could even pull that off.

"We're leaving… _now."_ His eyes went a couple shades darker. Rukia felt the air go cold.

"Ask nicely and I'll think about it." Rukia challenged. She didn't know what possessed her to be like this, this guy looked like he could seriously kill her, but he needed her, that much was obvious, or else he wouldn't be here… I mean, he did ask her _personally_. Rukia thought mockingly.

"It wouldn't be wise to test me, _Rukia."_ The last syllables played on his lips as he spoke them, which gave Rukia an involuntary shiver.

"Fine." Rukia got down from her bar stool but Ichigo grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"Wait, Rukia. You're not serious are you? He could be lying, I mean, what the hell? You, an executioner? Come on lets be reasonable."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Rukia said between clenched teeth. "Now let go, I need to leave. Something is obviously up and if I can do something, I'm going to. That's what we do Ichigo, I don't need you coddling me." She said a bit harsher than she meant. Byakuya was already at the door waiting for her. She felt Ichigo's grip loosen on her wrist, and his face grew solemn.

"Whatever, Rukia. Don't worry about the bill, I got it." He turned his face away from her as he grabbed his wallet. When Ichigo turned his head to finally say good bye, she was gone. He sighed as he left a twenty on the counter and grabbed his keys.

_'Fuck everything.'_ He ran his hand through his spiky hair in frustration as he left the bar, Rukia's truck was still in the lot next to his car, where she left it; but all of her gear, her bow, her guns, her arrows… gone.

Lighting up a cigarette, he brought out his phone and flipped it open and brought up a new message tab. He started keying the words one letter at a time and sent the message. When he finished, he looked up at the night sky and blew out the smoke from his cigarette as he pressed the unlock button on his cars key. The car made its customary 'unlock' chime and Ichigo finished off his smoke and flicked it into a nearby planter that hadn't had a living plant in it for at least three years. Starting the engine he thought about Rukia leaving with the stranger, and what that meant for him and her. Would he be able to see her again? He had never met any higher ranking officials before, or known any hunters that knew any personally. Ichigo was worried that he wouldn't be able to keep in touch with her; he had known her for so long that she was all that he had left. If something happened to her, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. Hell, he even loved her, but he wasn't going to tell her or he was too scared to, he couldn't decide which one it was. He watched the city lights pass by as he drove on through the city.

'_God this is annoying.'_

* * *

Rukia's phone chimed, alerting her of a new message. She sat in the front seat of Byakuya's Audi, yes.. an Audi. He was rich, and Rukia immediately felt uncomfortable. She didn't like rich people. They were always assholes… and he already proved that he was. Rukia inwardly groaned. Flipping her phone open, Byakuya glanced over.

"Who's texting you?"

Rukia read the message as she ignored him.

'_Keep in touch, don't do anything stupid and please…. Be careful.' _

It touched her how Ichigo was always watching her back, and truth be told, she felt bad on how she left. But if she was going to be promoted, it was most likely they wouldn't be able to keep in touch like they had been, like they always did.

"It's none of your business now is it?" She finally responded to Byakuya without looking up from her phone as she pretended to be busy with other things. She wasn't going to reply to Ichigo, mainly because she didn't have anything to say. Rukia felt the car accelerate faster as Byakuya pushed harder on the gas pedal; she glanced at the speedometer, 90mph.

"You do realize that the speed limit is 60 here, right?" Rukia asked.

"Are you going to question everything I do?"

"Well if everything you do is questionable, yes. Yes I am."

He looked over at her with an expression of obvious annoyance, Rukia just smiled in response, which annoyed him more. He slammed on the brakes and Rukia held onto a handle as she unexpectedly flung forward, the car veered into the emergency lane as it finally stopped.

"Let me make something clear." He twisted so he was completely facing her, one hand was still on the wheel and he started leaning closer to her. "I am your captain, I am your higher-up, I demand respect, and no insubordination. Failure to treat me as your captain will result in serious consequences." His face was close to Rukia's and she could see the anger in his eyes as she leaned back towards the door more. "I have reviewed your prior missions, and have personally observed your skills. Yes, you are good. Which is why I promoted you to my third seat, but don't think that there aren't others with your skill level. We are under extreme threats that need to be taken seriously. We are on the brink of total devastation. So knock it off." Rukia bit her tongue as she held the retort that she had for him in her mouth. He was right, she was being a child. She just felt stressed with all of this happening so sudden.

"Yes sir." His eyes slightly widened at her unexpected surrender. But he turned toward the road again and floored the gas. Rukia looked back at her phone as awkward silence enfolded the car. Finally she decided to reply to Ichigo, she started typing in the words as Byakuya glanced at her.

"If you are about to tell me that I need to cease all contact with my past acquaintances; don't worry. That's what I'm doing." She answered his unspoken order as she kept typing on her phone. He looked at her again with slight approval but only momentarily.

"_I will. Don't message me again… "_

She sighed as she sent the message. She didn't want it to sound so harsh but it had too. Things were about to change drastically and she couldn't have Ichigo get into any crosshairs.

"Will I be issued a new cell-phone?"

"Yes."

"Good." She rolled down the window and tossed her only means of communications with Ichigo out. The vision of it skipping down the highway in pieces reflected back at her from the side mirror. She was slightly disappointed, but she knew his number, so if she desperately needed to talk to him again, she would figure it out.

"Wise choice." Byakuya said as he also watched from the rearview window.

"Is there anything that I can be briefed on before we get there? I'd like to get started with whatever it is I'm needed for."

"There's a file in the back seat that I have put together for you. It's talking about what you and your boyfriend were just discussing about back at the bar." Rukia turned and grabbed the file, it was thick. '_Awesome, a ton of reading.'_

"He's not my boyfriend." She stated as she flipped through some of the pages, trying to absorb a majority of what was going on quickly. She'd go through it in more detail later.

"Isn't he? You two seem close."

"Not that close." She didn't want to discuss her love life with her _'_captain_'_; it was no one's business anyway. "Why do you care anyway?" She finally looked at him as she asked the question.

"I don't, just a conversational topic."

"Well then let's have another topic, like what's been going on with Hells Gate. I mean I'm all up for personal dialogue between captain and lesser subordinates but, I just personally find it unprofessional." She said with sarcasm.

Byakuya coughed as he tried to hide a chuckle and then put on the best un-amused face he could muster. It was a futile attempt, Rukia grinned slightly. At least he had a bit of a funny side; he just tried to hide it.

"Fine. How about we don't talk at all, and you get to read that file that I so graciously put together for you." He replied, Rukia just rolled her eyes as he tapped the radio on and classical music started playing. Her eyes glanced up from the file and looked at the radio and then to him. '_Classical? Jesus Christ this is going to be a fucking blast.'_ She held her tongue as a French horn started playing in the background. Rukia resisted checking her ears for blood. It had been five more minutes of violins and harps, and whatever else plays in a fucking orchestra before Rukia couldn't handle it any longer and twisted back in her seat and grabbed her backpack to fish out her trusty iPod and headphones. She just couldn't concentrate with that racket. She started playing her favorite band at full blast, which was AC-DC. You could understand why classical music wasn't exactly her cup of tea. Immediately it made her think of Ichigo and all of the times that they blasted Back in Black through the speakers as they went on joined hunts.

As she read the pages of the file she swore to herself that she would never forget how it was, and how it probably will never be again.

* * *

**Again, if you could make a quick review about what you thought or improvements I can make, that would be greatly appreciated, I hope it doesn't annoy you that I ask so frequently, it's just I love them so much! **

**Until the next chapter..**

**`GrandDuchess**


	2. The Hunted

**Greetings!**

**So I have been getting some fun ideas for this story and I wanted to make an update. So here it is!**

**I'm really happy that I have gotten reviews already with this and I hope that all of you continue to follow this storyline. **

**Well I don't really have much else to say, so here it is and please enjoy!**

**`GrandDuchess**

* * *

It had been an hour of driving; all the while Rukia's nose was in the files that Byakuya gave her, the pages inside portrayed horrible acts of demonic origin. One page was designated to a town in northern Japan that's population was slaughtered by an unknown entity. Pictures of blood covered homes and people split into half were scattered in the file. There were long lists of the victims; 40 dead in fishing community, 50 decapitated in a school, 75 dead at the mall, the list was never ending. This wasn't good.

"The council's ability to keep this shit under wraps is impressive." Rukia took out one of her headphone buds as she digested all of the new information. Byakuya glanced in the rearview mirror as he drove on, he said nothing in response.

"Why exactly did you promote me?" Rukia looked over at him. His expression was unexpressive as usual. Rukia had never met someone that could hide so well, she was so used to being able to read people. But she couldn't put a finger on the man sitting next to her, he was very cautious, that she did pick up on.

"After reviewing your past missions I found that you have promise."

"Like you said before, I don't have that much compared to others."

"Humble aren't we?"

"No, rational." He glanced over at her and Rukia proudly held her expression of deviance.

"I guess we'll see how much promise you have then." His eyes went back to the road.

Rukia went back to the immense file on her lap. After years of being confronted with death and destruction, it didn't affect her as much as it used too. But this was different; this was a lot to take in. With numbers like these, they were looking into thousands of deaths by demons in a short period of time.

"When did the council start noticing the pattern?" She said without looking up, she was concentrating on the pictures of the blood splattered scenes.

"What pattern?" Byakuya looked at her with some expression of shock, if Rukia could even call it that. She was slightly taken aback.

"W-well the deaths, they aren't caused by the common demons." Rukia said almost apprehensively. Was she wrong?

"How can you tell?"

"The bodies."

"What about them?" Rukia figured it out. He knew there was a pattern. He was testing her.

"They're still there…" Byakuya looked at her waiting. Wanting her to clarify further on what she was getting at. She huffed in frustration. '_He knows what I'm talking about..'_"Flockers, Boulders, and Shadows all have one thing in common, which is the base instinct of feeding. That's why they kill people, to feed entirely on the body. If everything in this folder was caused by a jump in the common demon population, you would just see a lot of blood and empty houses, but not as many bodies. These pictures have hundreds of dead people piled up but none of them have been fully consumed." This was troubling. If there was a new kind of demon that they had to keep tabs on that did this kind of damage, it could mean human annihilation.

"It took us two weeks to figure out the pattern. You did it in an hour. I said it before; promise."

She glanced up at him and felt her cheeks warm a bit at hearing him say that. Why was she flushing? She quickly brought her attention back to the pages before her and continued reading.

"Where exactly are we headed too?"

"Headquarters, it'll be a few more hours, you should get some sleep."

Rukia thought that sounded like an awesome idea. She was sure that they would discuss the cases further when she got back. So some shut eye was probably needed.

"You didn't answer my previous question." She said as she leaned the seat back and closed her eyes.

"Which one?" His deep voice resonated through car; it somehow comforted Rukia, threatening to lull her into blissful sleep.

"When did the council figure out the pattern?"

"I thought I answered that one."

"You didn't."

"It's been four months since this started."

Rukia's eyes opened and she turned her head toward him when he told her the number. Jesus.

"Are you sure? I mean, what led up to this?"

"No, we aren't entirely sure. But with the information gathered, four months is the best estimate. The problem is real; however we don't know what's causing the problem."

"But you think that there is a crack or something within Hells Gate?"

"It's all just theory, but it's the best one we have."

"Well, I guess I agree with you on that one. I have a feeling that you're all running around with your heads chopped off, which is why you need… promising new hunters." Rukia relaxed again as she lied down on the seat, for a sports car, it was pretty comfortable.

"Actually we need new hunters because everyone keeps dying." Byakuya said with boredom, like it didn't mean anything to him. '_Ever heard of tact?'_ Rukia thought to herself. She inwardly sighed, this was going to be _fun_.

"So, you're lowering your standards because if you didn't you wouldn't have anyone?" Rukia asked.

"Exactly." Jesus. This guy was unbelievable. Rukia didn't say anything after that, only kept her eyes closed as she let dreamless sleep take her.

* * *

Byakuya looked over at the small girl next to him as she slept. Her hair flowed around her face making her look younger and softer. He hadn't noticed it until seeing her at the bar, but she had grown into a fine woman. Before, he was just making sure that she was safe, that she could handle being a hunter; he wasn't watching her with other motives. After their first meeting so many years ago, she left an impression on Byakuya. He never was able to forget her. However, she hadn't changed that much in appearance since that fateful day so many years ago.

_"Jii-sama, why are we here? Isn't there a more pressing case that we could be at? Isn't this just another family slaughter?" Byakuya asked annoyed. _

_His grandfather looked down at the younger boy as they walked up to the house. _

_"You need to see this Byakuya." He said in a concerned voice. "And I never want to hear those words come from your mouth again. This was a family, a family that never will be again. Don't be disrespectful and childish." Byakuya bowed his head as he listened to the scolding. His grandfather was right, he was being childish. Byakuya straightened up and retrieved his weapon, just in case something survived the shadow squad. His grandfather replicated his movements. _

_Byakuya stepped up onto the porch and immediately felt the familiar dark aura surrounding the house. The home looked comfortable, and he could imagine the typical mundane family life. Young kids playing in the green grass, A mother tending the garden, maybe a father sitting on one of the rocking chairs reading the paper with a cup of coffee in his hand while he brought it up to his mouth. But those were all illusions, fleeting memories, for when Byakuya stepped past the threshold a completely different set of images came to his mind; a grotesque monster invading their place of comfort, their home; Screams piercing the normal calmness as blood splattered the family pictures hanging on the wall. Byakuya shook his head in an attempt to keep his calm. He was good at that, not letting it affect him. Maybe that bothered his grandfather and that's why he was here._

_Furniture was thrown about the rooms in a disorderly and chaotic fashion. The familiar dark red liquid spread about all the floors and walls. Byakuya stepped into the living room and saw a lifeless woman laying in a grotesque pose on the rug. Deep wounds and blood covered her entire body from the sharp fangs and claws of the monster. Her eyes looked toward the entrance of the kitchen, they were a cloudy violet color, and he imagined them to be much more vibrant if she were still alive. When he turned toward the kitchen he was halted in his steps, a young girl was sitting in the kitchen floor with a bloodied knife trembling in her hands. Her head was bent downward and her black hair covered her face. Byakuya could see the drying blood covering her body as she sat there shivering. Another lifeless body laid adjacent to her. It was a girl that looked about Byakuya's age, with raven black hair that framed a small round face with closed eyelids that kept the rest of her identity hidden. Delicate hands lay on her chest where three deep claw marks cut through fair flesh. Byakuya looked back at the younger girl sitting so close to the dead one. He only took a few steps forward once more before the girl's head shot up and looked straight at him. His eyes widened. She looked like she was a few years younger than him, and she had vibrant violet eyes that looked incredible. She was terrified, her hands tightened around the blade that she clutched onto with her life. Gently, Byakuya knelt down to her level. He set his gun down gently as he looked at her with his left hand raised signifying surrender. "I'm not going to hurt you." Byakuya heard himself speak to her quietly. "It'll be okay." The girl looked like she was thinking, thinking on if she could actually trust him or not. Byakuya could hear his grandfather's footsteps coming up behind him. The girl looked up to the older man, equally terrified of him as she was of Byakuya. Byakuya shot his hand back while he kept his gaze on the girl, telling his grandfather to hold his steps. When his grandfather stopped, Byakuya assumed it was consent to continue trying to console the girl. "What's your name?" He asked her. How did she survive? The shadow squad didn't say anything about any survivors. Unless she didn't make herself known until now, she could've been hiding. He quickly glanced around the room looking for any areas that she could've squeezed through."R-rukia…" A soft broken voice brought Byakuya's attention back to her. "My name is Rukia." Her demeanor seemed to get stronger as she repeated it. "Rukia is it? Everything is going to be alright… I promise." And then Byakuya did something that he rarely ever did… he smiled at her._

"Rukia. Wake up we're here." Byakuya parked his car in the headquarters parking lot. Rukia grumbled a bit before she actually opened her eyes and started moving. Byakuya himself was tired, it was 5 o'clock in the morning and he hadn't slept in the last 24 hours. Driving didn't help either, traffic was a bitch, and he needed some coffee. He could feel his inner annoyance growing.

"I didn't know there was a five o'clock in the morning." Rukia grumbled sarcastically as she put her stuff together to get out. "Could you open the trunk? I need to get my weapons together." Byakuya complied and silently acknowledged her by opening it electronically with his car remote. "Thanks." He heard as she got out and got her stuff out. Byakuya continued to sit in the driver's seat as he thought about what he was doing. To be honest, he didn't really know why he dragged Rukia along in this. He didn't need a third seat, his past third seat had been dead for quite some time now, and he just never promoted anyone. It was almost because of how chaotic things were getting, that he didn't want anything to happen to her. Which was amazing because they had only met each other before once and it was after her family fell victim to demons. He shouldn't be affected by her, be connected, but he was. He kept tabs with her by stalking her missions, her life. He was like a modern day creep. Byakuya shook his head as he went back to reality.

* * *

"Wow this place is incredible!" Rukia said with enthusiasm. Byakuya, as usual, didn't respond to her. Rukia rolled her eyes. It wouldn't kill him to be a little lively. She just brushed off his cold aura and kept looking around the massive building with people rushing about. It was a massive cement structure with a ton of people with business clothes on while holding briefcases and file folders. Rukia looked down at a massive logo imprinted on the marble floor and immediately started laughing. Byakuya looked over at her with a surprised expression.

"What is so funny?" He asked in curiosity.

"FBI? Really? Wasn't expecting _that._"

"We're a separate branch, lower levels, higher clearance… Not many agents here know about it."

"I wouldn't expect any less." Rukia smiled as she looked at him.

They walked into a massive elevator at the back of the room where Byakuya took out an ID card and swiped it through a slot. Immediately the elevator doors closed and went down to the lower levels. The elevator itself was made with glass, and when they reach level B5 Rukia gasped when she looked out. It opened up into a massive underground compound. It looked like something from one of those stupid action movies that Ichigo made her watch. When the elevator doors opened, Rukia jumped out and went to the main floor. It boggled Rukia's mind that something could've been this big and still be hidden in plain sight. For god's sake, it was underneath the Federal Bureau of Investigation without being known! Hundreds of screens covered the far wall, with the middle screens showing a massive map of the entire earth with orange lights marking specific locations. The other screens were flashing scenes of common people, demons, hunters, and areas foreign to Rukia. When Rukia looked up, there were 4 more levels that were stacked above the main floor. There were hundreds of people hustling about, some running to elevators or up stairs. Rukia even saw a couple demons chained up and being led to a hallway by a couple people with lab coats on with clipboards in their hands.

"This. Is. Incredible." Rukia said with complete awe, as she took it all in. Rukia was so used to being alone, hunting alone. She had Ichigo but that was about it. There were others, but the number was miniscule. Rukia sometimes felt that she was fighting an impossible battle completely alone, but seeing this, being a part of this, was incredible.

"We need to get you signed in and I'll hand you to someone else to guide you through everything. I hope you don't need me to hold your hand." Byakuya said coldly.

"Che, yeah… right… I think I can manage."

"It may require you to be nice."

"Obviously not if you got through it." Rukia shot back… she was rewarded with a deathly cold stare with no other response; he turned and left leaving Rukia to manage on her own. Rukia chuckled. She walked up to someone that didn't look too busy to help point her in the right direction. A guy leaning against a wall with unbelievably red hair and crazy tattoos was talking to another guy with a 69 tattooed to his face… '_Do I even want to know?'_

"Excuse me. I'm totally new here and I have no idea where I need to go. Could you help me out?" She stood in front of the red headed man while he looked at her with an assessing gaze.

"Che, Fucking newbies… Why are you here?" '_Oh, another ass huh? Fine with me.'_

_"_Kuchiki Byakuya's new third seat. I don't know, he just _personally_ promoted me."

"_You're _Kuchiki-Taichou's new seat? Jesus, I wonder where his taste went."

"Yeah, I am. So, are you going to keep being an ass or are you going to help me?"

"Hey, you should treat me with some respect, I _am _your superior." He put his foot down from the wall and stepped closer to Rukia; trying to intimidate her. The one with the 69 on his face stood there unfazed, like this was normal behavior.

"I believe in giving respect when receiving it." Rukia shot back while crossing her arms. He glared at her with an angry gaze.

"You're a little snippy one aren't you? Look robin hood…" He pointed to the bow that was placed around Rukia's torso… '_Robin hood? Watch out Rukia, this one's creative.'_ Rukia mockingly thought to herself. "You're new here, so don't go pissing off the wrong people." He continued on. "We wouldn't want to see this cute little body of yours getting broken." To emphasize his point he went to grab Rukia's waist. But Rukia wasn't going to let that happen. She intercepted his hand and twisted it upward and heard him shout in pain. She jumped up, and he was completely caught off guard when she wrapped her legs around his neck and sent him crashing down. In a blur of motion he was suddenly in an awkward position on the ground with his arm still twisted up in her strong hold with her knees digging into his upper back as his face was being smashed into the concrete floor. His face made a wincing expression from the pain of her hold. She was proud to admit that she knew where the pressure points were. She smiled as she leaned down to his level while adding more weight to her knees.

"Don't go pissing off the wrong people there buddy. We wouldn't want this cute body of yours to get broken." She threw the words back in his face as he grunted in pain.

"Get off of me you psychotic bitch!"

"I wouldn't make more of a scene; you've already embarrassed yourself pretty badly." Rukia said as she looked around, everyone was completely still and quiet. Moments ago people were shouting but now you could hear a pin drop at the other side of the room. Finally, footsteps were walking toward her and the man she had pinned underneath her knees; hollow, calculated steps. She looked up and saw Byakuya standing over her with a look of pure rage.

"I tried your _nice_ technique; as you can see, it didn't end well." Rukia smiled slyly.

He was so pissed.

* * *

It hadn't been five minutes… and she was already causing trouble. Unbelievable.

"Taichou, I am incredibly sorry for that previous display." Renji's head was bowed low as he conveyed his apologies. Rukia just stood there with crossed arms and rolled her eyes.

"Rukia. What do you have to say about what just happened?" Rukia looked at him with a look of annoyance.

"He was being an ass, so I put him in his place."

"Watch how you talk to the Taichou!" Renji turned and shouted at her.

"If you would've watched how you talk to strangers, we wouldn't be here in the first place!" Rukia yelled back. Byakuya felt a headache coming on.

"Enough, both of you." Byakuya commanded. Rukia and Renji both turned away from each other and pouted. Byakuya resisted rolling his eyes.

"Renji, please assist Rukia in getting acquainted here."

"B-but Taich-"

"Do not make me repeat myself Abarai." Byakuya shot him a standard cold glare. Renji slunk in disappointment. He probably had plans. Byakuya didn't care.

"Rukia, please refrain from tackling people that offend you."

"I'll keep it in consideration." She responded sarcastically.

"Now, go the both of you. I'm busy." He dismissed them coldly, and turned away. He heard the both of them leave the room and close the door behind them. She was unbelievable; she was able to tackle his lieutenant effortlessly without being phased in the slightest. Maybe Renji was getting rusty, he needed to train harder Byakuya thought to himself. Byakuya poured himself a cup of black coffee and sat at his desk to do his obscene amount of paperwork.

_'Today is going to be a long day.'_

* * *

Rukia had been walking around with 'Renji' for a little while before she broke the silence.

"Look, we got off on the wrong foot and since we will be working together from now on I think we should at least form a level of tolerance for each other."

She watched as Renji looked back at her and his tough aura faltered slightly.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry I was being an ass. I get like that sometimes." Renji turned to face her while he started walking backwards.

"Eh, it's okay…" Rukia shrugged. "My buddy gets like that too."

"So you're a Hunter?" Rukia looked up at him as he asked the question.

"Yeah, I have been since I was about 12. I didn't have much of a childhood."

"Damn, I guess. Well I was kind of born into this shit, so I've been doing it for about as long as you too."

Rukia nodded as he talked. She didn't really understand how different their lives must be. He probably came from a family of high ranking demon executioners, while she was just a victim with a vendetta. The differences in their social stature was probably really big, but that didn't bother Rukia any.

"We have a ton of facilities that you will be able to check out and access at anytime of the day. Right now we're headed to the offices that will see to it that you get a badge and access codes. Since you're a third seat you're pretty high up on the bureaucratic chain here; the only people that are higher than you are the Lieutenants, like me, the Captains, like Kuchiki-Taichou, and the Captain Commander. Who is someone that you just don't want to fuck with, okay?"

"Got it."

"After we get your badge I'll bring you to your barracks."

"My what?"

"Barracks. The place you will be living. You can't leave headquarters whenever you want. It has to be for missions."

"Oh, so now I'm a prisoner."

"Sure, whatever you want to call it. I don't really care."

Rukia rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, you get the jist of it. You need to report to the Captain tomorrow at 8am. That's when we all get started." Renji informed her.

"Why are you started then when it's 6am?"

"Because it's been a fucking shit storm. I haven't slept in daaays." Renji threw his head back and groaned in frustration. Rukia chuckled, he sounded a lot like Ichigo. She may learn to like this kid.

"Hey you guys got a training ground?" Rukia asked him as she glanced around the hallways. People kept passing them in a hurry. It was all so exciting.

"Che, more like top of the line training facility that you couldn't even _dream _about." Renji replied enthusiastically.

"I think I'd really like to check that out."

"You bet, I like a girl that works out." Renji made a half-cocked grin.

"I like a guy that can keep his balance." Rukia made the same face back at him as his turned into a sour frown. She started laughing.

This may actually turn out to be… kinda fun.

* * *

**Did you guys like it? Please review and tell me all about it! I love reading all of your fantastic comments and critiques. It really does motivate me and help me become a greater writer. I hope this plot is making some sense, I will have more backstory in the later chapters. I just hope that I am not confusing anyone. XD**

**I really enjoyed writing Rukia and Renji meeting, that was a lot of fun for me. XD**

**And I feel really evil for making Rukia's childhood always really tragic, maybe I'm expressing some inner darkness that I haven't yet come to terms with. :\ Hahaha.**

**Anywho, again... please review! **

**Until the next installment**

**`GrandDuchess**


	3. The Attack

**Hello!**

**Sorry about the slight delay on updating, holidays, traveling…. Ugh. **

**But anyway, I was really inspired to work on chapter 3 because I've been reading the lovely reviews of the previous chapters and because I've been listening to some new music that's been affecting me… hopefully for the better!**

**Now, this is quite a long chapter; for me anyway. But I was really hoping to give you guys more detailed and longer chapters than smaller ones. ****_  
_****  
Please feel free to give me constructive criticism! I really want to become a better storyteller. I swear I won't take it negatively; I'm a complete amateur that wants to get better. So please. Tell me if there are errors or even plot ideas or character issues/inconsistencies… So give me a review! I read them all and love them all! **

**Enough of my ranting! On to what we all love best! READING! :D **

**Love  
`GrandDuchess **

* * *

**_"All squads, to positions. All squads, to positions."_**

The sirens were blaring through the speaker systems above. Lights were flashing in the room and shouting and running could be heard in the hallways. Rukia's door opened with Renji standing in the door frame with a pale face and a look of terror.

"Rukia, get the fuck up now… We're under attack."

He didn't have to say it twice, Rukia had already leapt from bed and grabbed her bow and arrows and various other useful weapons.

"Where do you need me?" Rukia asked unaffected. Best in these situations, don't get emotional.

"Just get out. There's nothing we can do. You're on your own." Renji started to back from the door and run to the next rooms." Rukia stood taken aback. They were going to let everyone else get slaughtered. She ran.

The hallways were chaos; and unlike the somewhat orderly chaos of the usual routines. This was panic. This was _terror_.

For the last few months, Rukia had grown accustomed to life within these cement walls. Renji had become a great sparring partner and friend; he was a lot like Ichigo, in many ways. They had the same temperament, the same obnoxious laugh, and the same fierce eyes when they were set on something. Rukia enjoyed spending her time with him. She had learned the ways of the Bureau; protocols, new fighting techniques, but the thing that bothered Rukia was that… she hadn't learned much more on the mysterious killings. Byakuya kept to himself and didn't include her in anything, she tried asking Renji and he told her some but said that everything was confidential, and he was surprisingly a stickler for protocol… and much to Rukia's annoyance.

* * *

_"Renji… why would Byakuya tell me about the case, promote me, bring me here, and then completely leave me out of the dark? It doesn't make sense!"_

_"I don't know why he promoted you… we hadn't had a third seat for awhile before you… I didn't even know he was looking to promote someone until you showed up! It seriously caught me off guard."_

_Rukia's eyes widened when he revealed this. What was Byakuya's angle? He hadn't included her in anything. She felt completely useless and if pissed her off. He had even gone to the level of putting her in beginner level 'demon classes' to keep her busy…_

_"It's pissing me off Renji. Why am I here? He put me in fucking beginner level classes when I don't need them."_

_"Well, maybe you do… You weren't brought up like us."_

_Rukia got up from her desk chair and looked at Renji straight in the eyes as he sat comfortably on her bed. The amount of anger Rukia felt in that moment was immeasurable._

_"Don't offend me, Renji… I may have not been raised and taught in the fucking comfort of your classes with your textbooks and stuffy uniforms… but I __**lived**__ it. I learned everything I know from being in the field, from watching as everyone that I had come to love and cherish be slaughtered by the claws and fangs of damned creatures, from killing everything that got in my way. So don't think for a hot second that you people aren't capable of getting in my way. I will not tolerate being jerked around like a god damn toy, this is my life, not my job, and definitely not my hobby; I don't take pleasure in this job, I take responsibility." Rukia's index finger was in Renji's face as she leaned down close with her teeth bearing as she hissed out her retort. Renji was in pure shock, he sat frozen with his mouth slightly agape. His cheeks reddened a bit at embarrassment from being scolded like a school girl. Rukia, however, didn't care. She whipped around and left the room to cool off; the atmosphere was getting a little overbearing for her to handle. Renji tried to stop her but was quick to change his mind when he saw her flip him off from behind. _

* * *

Gradually, Rukia found out why they were keeping so much from her… it took a few months but she figured it out on her own.

They weren't.

They have no idea what's going on and are too proud to admit it.

But none of that matters now…

Rukia readied an arrow as she ran and dodged between frantic people. She saw her target in front of her. It was black and misty, with elongated claws and black eyes. Crawling on all fours, it seemed to be in no rush; as if it knew it was going to be the victor of this battle between demon and hunters. It didn't attack anyone. Rukia hesitated. Why wasn't it attacking? It was in a room full of frantic people that weren't prepared for a fight. Was it lacking intelligence? Rukia didn't understand. She shook her head and brought herself back to earth.

With her bow raised, time seemed to slow. Everyone around her was a blur as she narrowed in on her target. The beast's hollow eyes turned and locked on to her as well. They blinked and its head tilted like a confused dog, Rukia shuddered, this wasn't cute. She was used to seeing demons eyes, they were always evil. But this was different. It wasn't the pure evil that she was used to, that she had grown such a tolerance for. It was complete and utter emptiness. There was no soul to damn in this creature.

The arrow sliced the air.

The beast fell without any hesitation.

No life left its eyes as Rukia watched.

It had already been dead.

With another arrow locked in, Rukia took off in the same direction she was in, her theory? Run where everyone is running _from._ That's where answers lie. The crowd was lessening as she drove on, she was getting closer. Rukia passed more of the hollow eyed creatures, they were climbing up walls, crawling grotesquely through the passage ways with incredible speed, charging into crowds of hunters aiming at them but being too slow to fire.

It was chaos.

Rukia didn't know what she was looking for. She needed to know how these things operated, needed to observe what they did, how they jumped, potential weaknesses, anything that could be useful. How did they get here? How did they know to come here? If it's chaos in one of the most secure underground facilities in the world, what's upstairs look like?

Rukia stopped running.

What does upstairs look like?

They've kept her hidden inside these cement corridors completely cut off from the outside world; training her in useless crash courses. If she asked anything about it, she'd be admonished for over stepping her authority. Byakuya didn't see her, much less speak to her. She highly doubted this to be an organized attack by demons, they didn't think that way, not these demons anyway. So if they managed to find this place, what's to say the entire city isn't destroyed? Or the country… it's been months.

Ichigo.

She ran the other direction, not caring about information or any of the other previous bullshit. Nothing else mattered now. She needed to survive this; she needed to get out of here.

Rukia darted to the left, briefly dodging a swipe to the chest from one demon chasing after the running technicians. Rukia braced herself for the next hit but it didn't come, she watched as it ran, ignoring her and kept its pace towards the others. Interesting.

She didn't dwell.

Rukia had always been aware of her surroundings. Since early life she learned to use her 'fight or flight' skill set to her advantage. Find exits, hallways, hiding spots, potential perches in limited time with minimal effort. Surviving in this life depended on it. She always assumes the worst, always assumes something like this could happen, that's how she's been able to be on top her entire life.

Rukia ran back to her barrack room, killing three more demons on the way, passing many dead bodies along the way. Hunters, Executioners, Technicians… everyone… Where were the captains?

When she got to her room she grabbed her backpack, always packed, never put away, and got the hell out of there; being trapped wasn't on her to do list.

The massive front lobby had executioners and hunters fighting the demons, some winning, but most becoming overwhelmed. Rukia did her best at launching unsuspecting arrows into the crowd, effectively diminishing the demon load on her colleagues. They, however, didn't notice… they were a little busy at the moment.

The elevator shafts were crawling with ugly black creatures, one elevator was up at a high rate of speed when all of a sudden it started screeching loudly. Sparks were flying and demons were surrounding the mechanism. The large cables were unable to withhold the added weight and Rukia watched as the glass elevator suddenly dropped several feet, stopped, then fell all together. The people inside were sent crashing down and Rukia ducked under a desk as concrete and parts of the shafts went flying through the air upon impact. Taking a deep breath, Rukia stepped out as she expected the worst. Shards of glass lodged themselves in hunters and in the cracks of the concrete walls. Mangled bodies of demons and humans were lying throughout the large lobby.

It suddenly fell silent.

Rukia could make out some sounds, the electricity from live wires lying on the floor, muffled moans under rubble, snarls and snaps from a demon that was sliced in half trying to stay alive…

This was horrifying.

"Rukia!" She didn't look back as Renji yelled behind her. "Jesus… Christ." Renji's voice suddenly fell as he finally laid eyes upon the destruction.

"We need to get out of here. There's another way out other than the elevators." Rukia started heading toward the air shafts. Rukia saw them before, and saw where they led out on one of the control monitors. If they could get into the tunnels from one of the broiler rooms they could get to the sewer system of the city and escape out of a nearby storm drain.

"Wait. Rukia. W-we need to c-check for survivors." Renji was frozen as he turned his head back and forth trying to take in all of the damage.

"Did you expect this attack? No, sorry… not you… you're _people?_" Rukia turned abruptly and stood in front of Renji and looked straight into his eyes.

"NO! I knew nothing of this! You're not the only one that's been kept out in the dark as of late… I started asking questions too. But… I kept getting scolded so I just shut up."

Rukia kept her gaze on him, trying to find any hints of deception, but they were running out of time. Clawing and screeching could be heard from above, more of them were coming.

"We need to leave. Now." Rukia turned again. "If you want to join me, awesome, but you aren't my lieutenant any longer. Those days are over with. You're going to live with a different set of protocols, my protocols." Rukia tightened the straps to her backpack and went to grab another arrow but decided that her arrows were dwindling enough as it is; she should be more careful with them. She put the bow over her shoulder and grabbed the loaded semi-automatic nine millimeter from her waist band. Rukia heard the click of another gun behind her with a bullet now in its chamber. She glanced behind her at Renji who seemed to have made a decision.

"We should look for the captain at least."

"No. He's a big boy, he can handle himself." Rukia responded. "If we see him along the way, great, if not, oh well, I pray the best for him."

Renji ignored her as they quietly ran to the next destination. The demons must have gathered in the lobby because she wasn't hearing anymore of them. Rukia could hear Renji's steps falter slightly behind her as they jumped over a couple more mangled bodies.

"Renji, we need to keep going." She turned and faced him. He was looking down, his eyes were wide and his gun was trembling in his hands.

"Hinamori…" Rukia's eyes widened as she heard the name. She recognized it. It was the name of another lieutenant within the divisions, and one of Renji's friends if she remembered correctly. She met her once and spoke with her briefly. But Rukia was in a rush at the time. Renji kneeled down and placed a hand gently and a small girls body. Renji's eyes were red from tears threatening to spill out and his hands were trembling. _Damn it._

"Renji. I'm sorry…" Rukia knelt down in front of him and the dead girl. Hinamori's face was small and slightly round with dark hair tied up in a bun at the back. "-but we really need to keep moving, we all know the risks Renji." He immediately glared at her.

"I've known her my _entire_ life. We went to school together and are close friends, she wasn't just a _risk_."

"Renji, more demons are coming and if you don't suck it up and mourn later…" Rukia stopped as the tears started falling down his face, his jaw was clenching from frustration and anger and his face was turning red. "I'll leave you here." Rukia got up and started again, she didn't want to leave him but she needed to make a point. Staying here did nothing. Behind her, Renji finally stood from where he was previously sitting and he side stepped his long time friend and kept on going with Rukia leading the way at a brisk pace.

A couple hallways down, a grotesque scream could be heard. Rukia shuddered at the hallowed sound.

"What was that?"

Rukia turned abruptly with her finger to her mouth telling him to shut up. Jesus, this kid was unbelievable in emergencies. With her gun raised Rukia quickly turned the sharp right toward the noise, where Rukia could see Kuchiki Byakuya cleaning off his katana after just slicing a offending opponent in two. Rukia dropped her weapon.

* * *

_"Hauh!" Rukia twirled around an kicked Renji in the chest, leaving him out of breath and on the ground._

_"Ha-ha! Gotcha!" Rukia fisted the air as she gave a triumphant shout._

_ She put her hands to her knees as she tried to regain her breath… it had been a couple of hours since Renji and her had started sparring; and Rukia was starting to have fun. Renji had been right, the training arena was superb. State of the art equipment was scattered throughout the entire facility, gun ranges, fighting rings, cardio machines, a massive pool; it was incredible. _

_"Well, you can fight, I give you that." Renji coughed out, still out of breath. Rukia helped him up from the ground and headed to get a refreshment._

_"Hah, years out in the field demands some level of endurance." Rukia chuckled as she chugged down some water from her bottle. _

_"Hey, I was going easy on you… wouldn't want you breaking any nails." Renji joked as he came up to Rukia and grabbed his towel that sat on one of the metal benches adjacent to her. He started to wipe access sweat from his brow with it as Rukia swallowed her generous mouthful._

_"I hope you were going easy on me… because I would be a little worried if I were more skilled than my superiors." Rukia laughed at Renji's aggravated expression and downed some more wonderfully cold water. _

_"I would have to agree with you on that." Rukia and Renji's eyes widened as another figure entered the fighting area, a familiar deep baritone voice. _

_"T-taichou!" Renji stuttered as clumsily stood upright with a clear respectful stance. Rukia, however, stood still, slightly amused at Renji's act, she was still standing in a lax position, tired from the spar with Renji. Byakuya stood, watching her, expectant. Rukia rolled her eyes and stood a little straighter. He wasn't happy but it would do._

_"I was wondering, Rukia, if you would spar with me? It would be good for me to accurately assess the skills of my subordinates personally." Renji almost choked on his water. _

_"Uhh, sure?" Rukia said while looking at Renji who was trying to regain his composure. What was his deal? _

_"Good." Rukia watched as Byakuya climbed into the ring and stretched his arms. Rukia had to admit, this man was attractive. Even in workout clothes, he looked like a Greek god worthy of a temple shrine. Rukia shook her head… 'What am I thinking?' _

_Before Rukia climbed into the ring too, Renji stopped her. _

_"Don't underestimate him."_

_"I wasn't planning on it… but thanks for the heads up." She proceeded into the ring, and in front of Kuchiki Byakuya, Captain of the Sixth squad of the Council. A Shadow King._

_Rukia eyed Byakuya in an attempt at figuring him out, subtle weaknesses that he tried to hide, maybe subliminal cues as to how he was going to attack. But there was nothing. Rukia had never witnessed anything like it. How he could be so… calm, unaffected… It fascinated Rukia. _

_Rukia started with a quick kick to his side and he dodged it effortlessly. Rukia expected as much. But he didn't initiate anything, not even an attempt to block; it was as if he thought that she couldn't hit him. The thought irritated Rukia._

_"So, is this really a fight or a test to see if I can hit you?" Rukia eyed him annoyed._

_"I guess we'll see." Rukia smiled at the challenge._

_It had been a solid 15 minutes of missed punches and kicks. He was incredibly fast; faster than Rukia ever imagined. She knew that this wasn't going to last long, she was already tired from her previous spar with Renji, but it didn't matter, she needed to finish this, by winning. _

_He was getting tired as well, that much she could tell. Sweat could be seen on his brow from the constant onslaught coming from Rukia, which only encouraged her to go faster. She started to learn his movements, how he reacted. It was difficult, he hid his technique well, but not well enough for Rukia to not figure it out after awhile. It was becoming a blur of motion, and Rukia started to focus harder, like she does when her bow rises to take aim, before her arrow springs into the air and hits its intended target. Everything seemed to go into slow motion, and Rukia could start to predict each intended motion, and that's when she did it. She grabbed a hold of his arm, swung it back behind him and effectively tripped him backwards with her legs twisted at his waist. But before they hit the ground, Byakuya managed to flip himself around and pin himself against her, blocking any exits for her to escape from. Rukia's back was firmly pressed onto the mat with Byakuya's face inches from her own and Rukia could feel his breath gently brush against her cheeks. They were panting from the over exhaustion, and Rukia could feel her chest tighten and her cheeks heat up at the proximity between the two of them. She looked into his steel grey eyes and could see his faint expression of surprise. His eyes seemed to captivate Rukia, made her want to keep looking, to get lost in them, but they also seemed… familiar? _

_Byakuya started to get up after he also realized the close distance. He helped Rukia up off the ground, and said nothing to her after the spar. _

_"Uhm, good fight?" Rukia tried but only silence greeted her. Byakuya had already turned to leave the ring, leaving a cold aura floating within the room. It was silence for a few minutes after he had left that Rukia finally turned to a slack jawed Renji. _

_"What the hell was that all about?" She asked him as she got out of the ring herself. _

_"No one has ever gotten that close to beating the Captain." Astonishment rang through his voice._

_"I was nowhere near beating him. I tripped him, barely." _

_"Exactly." Renji turned and followed the famed unbeaten Kuchiki Byakuya out of the training room. Leaving Rukia confused and exhausted._

* * *

"Were you a sushi chef in one of your past lives?" Rukia joked as she pointed at his clean kill.

"Do you need to be a smartass constantly?" Byakuya replied nonchalantly.

"What can I say? My rapier wit hides my inner pain." Rukia shrugged.

Byakuya's eyebrows rose at the comment.

"We're headed to the broiler room for access to the sewer systems that run adjacent to us. One of tunnels leads out to a storm drain that's at the edge of the city. I need to get to one of my hideouts where I keep supplies. If you want to come with, you're welcome too." Rukia dialed him into the plan quickly; they needed to make haste if they were going to get out of here in time.

"Since when do you make orders? You're still my subordinate, I make the decisions." Now was not the time for a pissing contest, Rukia rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm not. I only participate if it's to the best interest of my survival in situations like these, sorry. You can't order me around anymore, have nothing against me."

"I have more against you than you would like to believe." His response was deep and reverberated authority.

"Oh? Like what?" Rukia challenged.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

Rukia stilled. He wouldn't do something as drastic as hurting Ichigo just because she didn't want to listen to him, would he? She didn't know. Right now, complete chaos could be ensuing outside, and he wanted to make sure Rukia had a leash? If he wanted to play this game, he chose a bad opponent.

_"What about him?"_ Rukia's eyes turned dangerous as she looked at her '_captain'._

"Bad things happen during times like these, wouldn't want anything unfortunate happening to him, now would we?"

Rukia smirked.

"I would love to see you try. Do you know where he is? Who he's with? Do you even have the resources to really threaten me like that?" Rukia crossed her arms over her chest. Her anger was interlaced within her voice. "Don't play coy with me, Kuchiki. I'm not dumb enough for you to keep under your new pay grade, which is nothing. Our world as we know it is under attack, so these protocols and rules are worth rat's ass to us survivalists. So don't act so high and mighty to someone that can call bullshit."

Byakuya's face went rigid and his expression darkened dangerously at her outburst. That didn't stop Rukia. "Look, you've got skill, which is important, you need that. But I have skill too, more than you like to think. So whether you like it or not, I'm leaving, my way."

Rukia turned and headed for the air grate that she had been looking for. Renji stood not too far off, stunned into silence. He had probably never heard his dear _captain_ told off before. Rukia shrugged it off.

"Fine, you called my bluff. I didn't think you would see past it. Most people aren't dumb enough to question my authority." Rukia ignored the last comment.

"You continually underestimate me Byakuya."

"I'll try not to make it a habit."

"You won't have to try anymore." The air duct opened with a clang, and Rukia set the grate on the floor next to her.

"I will if I'm coming with you." She heard his deep voice right behind her. Him, come with her and Renji? He didn't seem too excited about it before.

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle not being in charge?" She looked over her shoulder at him, with a smirk visible on her face. Byakuya kneeled down to her level and leaned in close. "Don't push it Rukia." His whisper was rough against her ear, and Rukia could feel her face heat up. '_Get it together Rukia.'_

"Abarai I believe you're attracting flies with your mouth agape like that." Byakuya said a little louder to Renji, but Byakuya's gaze never left Rukia's. Rukia quickly looked away and back at the open vent, took her backpack off, and dove in.

* * *

"Holy shit it smells bad in here." Renji put his hand up to his face as the putrid smell reached his nose.

"No pun intended right?" Rukia smirked as she kept walking through the sewer system. After crawling through the small compartments of the air conditioning units, the group was well on their way to the outside.

Rukia was starting to get anxious. She hadn't seen the sun in, what, three months? Hadn't had a breath of fresh air, or ran with the wind blowing through her hair; or had a hunt. Rukia hadn't _hunted_ in three months. It slightly disturbed Rukia how exhilarated she felt right now. She wasn't scared, or nervous, she was _excited_. Most of her life, Rukia would have given anything to have a three month vacation from hunting. But she soon realized that she couldn't figure out what to do with her free time. She went to the training facility, a lot. But that only curbed a little of her energy. Rukia had felt so restless.

They needed to get north, away from the city, away from the dense population. If Rukia's theory held out, it was the best option. After getting to one of the safe houses that she and Ichigo shared, she would try to get a hold of him.

A light could be seen at the end of the tunnel, and Rukia's heart skipped a beat; _Sunlight._

* * *

Byakuya watched as Rukia's expression softened when they saw the end of the tunnel. She briefly looked… happy. It bothered Byakuya that Rukia was trapped within headquarters for so long, but it had to be done. He never wanted this to happen, her to find out. He wanted to keep her hidden from all of this terror and sickness, wanted to keep her… _pure_. It was futile; and Byakuya was a fool. She couldn't be kept safe under lock and key, because she knew exactly how to get out without using keys.

It had been a month since the start of complete chaos. Where the council couldn't keep up with the attacks and the mundane humans were actually becoming conscious of the fact that they were in fact **_not_**_ alone._ That's when the council went into complete radio silence with the outside world, and began to make decisions with only their own best interests, and not the average citizens.

Byakuya will never forget the moment the alarms started going off within the compound. The moment that the demons, that have been eluding the council for so many months, had actually shown themselves, by attacking headquarters. Instantaneously, Byakuya ran to one of the monitors to bring up Rukia's feed, he needed to see where she was. His heart had stopped when he saw her marker moving directly into the middle of it all, he didn't watch for long, he was gone with only one thing on his mind.

* * *

_"Byakuya…" _

_Byakuya raised his head up from his work and looked to his grandfather, who was entering the study._

_"Jii-sama, What are you doing here? I thou-" _

_"What is the meaning of this?" Byakuya's words were cut off as his grandfather tossed a file on Byakuya's desk. It was light and Byakuya briefly wondered what it was but once he opened it, he saw her face staring back at him._

_Rukia._

_They knew._

_"Jii-sama, it isn't what it seems…"_

_"Then what is it? You weren't supposed to keep ties with her Byakuya."_

_"I haven't been directly communicating with her."_

_"It doesn't matter; you are putting her at risk. Red flags come up when this girl's name appear now. You haven't been discreet enough. She could potentially be put into cross hairs."_

_"Jii-sama, it's hardly anything serious. Innocent curiosity at best."_

_"Is it?"_

_Byakuya looked at his grandfather, a little hesitant at answering him. His grandfather's expression was one of concern for the young Kuchiki heir. After awhile, Byakuya could hear his grandfather's deep voice penetrate the still silence of the room._

_"Byakuya, we cannot show interest in something that doesn't belong in our world. It's dangerous. You could cause real damage here."_

_"Why?" Byakuya wasn't going to play dumb any longer. All of this just frustrated Byakuya; the councils unwavering protocols and his family's unrealistically high expectations of him, it all became too much. That's why he checked up on Rukia. She was so different from his world. She came from a complete different life then Byakuya, but became something so similar. Byakuya was born to this, forced to participate; but she… she did this out of sheer will, because she felt she __**had**__ to. It was admirable, she was admirable. _

_"If someone found out about your 'innocent curiosity', they could use it to hurt you... and __**her**__. It's that simple Byakuya. Stop checking up on her. I mean it." Byakuya watched as his grandfather turned and left Byakuya alone in the family study._

* * *

The amount of relief that Byakuya felt when Rukia stood before him, safe, breathing, was immeasurable… and it disturbed Byakuya at how much he had…_ cared_.

He was a master at pushing those feeling away. Sending his wants, cares, desires away from his direct thoughts. He kept his concentration to what was before him, work, training, studying, fighting… until it became repetition; until it became completely _meaningless_. He had listened to his grandfather, for a short period of time, to not check in on Rukia. But, he needed something… something to distract him from his meaningless existence… something to give him meaning. And that something became Rukia, again. She was like an addiction. Even after the brief couple of years of not checking up on her, she had become strong, left the orphanage and was well on her way to becoming a great hunter. She was a source of inspiration for Byakuya. Everyone just assumed that he could handle everything on his own, handle being in the shadow of his grandfather, Kuchiki Ginrei, being the heir of one of the most powerful demon hunting noble families known, being next in line for the legacy that lay before him. But there were days where Byakuya just wanted it to all end, all the stress and expectation… the pressure. But he did what he did best, and threw it all to the back, sending it into a dark vault that never opened.

Seeing her now, so alive, and strong… even when everything was changing. She was incredible. Her sense of adaptation was unbelievable to him.

The bright sunlight blinded Byakuya as they began to enter the fresh air, and away from the septic system. It was exactly how Rukia described, a storm drain, at the edge of the city. He didn't know where Rukia was intending on heading now that they were out of the labyrinth of cement. Being inside the city wasn't a good idea, too many people, which meant more demons. His thoughts were interrupted as Rukia broke the silence of the group.

"We need to stay away from the city." She put her gun in the back waistband of her jeans and prepared her bow. "These demons seem to go after larger groups of people rather than smaller." Exactly what Byakuya thought, he almost smirked.

"Also, refrain from using your bullets. Renji, are you good with a knife?" Rukia brought her backpack back up on her shoulders as she looked to Renji. Her hair was slightly messy from running, but she looked so… alive. Her eyes were filled with determination and strength and when Byakuya saw them his heart almost skipped a beat. '_Push it away.'_

"Ha! Are you kidding!? Of course I am!" Abarai's face shown amusement and enthusiasm as he looked at Rukia; which bothered Byakuya in a weird way. Abarai whipped out a long serrated blade from one of his side leg pockets of his pants. "Never leave without her! Her name is Zabimaru." He looked at the blade with a look of slight adoration, which disturbed Byakuya slightly.

"I'm happy for you and your inanimate lover, but we need to keep moving if we want to make some distance before dark." Rukia locked an arrow in place and started walking down the storm drain at a reasonable pace. Byakuya almost chuckled at her sarcastic remark and decided to follow Rukia; she seemed to have an idea as to where they needed to go. Renji gave Rukia a look of disdain before he followed her and Byakuya shortly thereafter.

"Rukia! How long will it take to get to your safe house?" Renji yelled at Rukia, who was crouched slightly and looking in all directions; seemingly at once. Rukia finally whipped around and faced Renji head-on. Surprised, Renji took a step back at the unexpected blockade.

"Do you think that you could be somewhat quiet?" Rukia seethed through clenched teeth. Byakuya agreed with Rukia, these demons could be drawn to sound, and given that they didn't know much about them, it was smart to stay quiet.

"_Sorry."_ Renji whispered. Byakuya resisted rolling his eyes. His lieutenant could be slightly dumb at times. He watched as Rukia herself rolled her eyes and huffed in frustration. Her one black bang stubbornly came floating back down between her eyes, and Byakuya found himself wanting to push it back behind her ear gently. He shook himself back to reality as she started talking again.

"By foot, days… but my plan is to find an abandoned car; which shouldn't be too hard at the edge of the city. If that happens, it'll take an hour at most."

"Sounds good." Renji started nodding.

"You know how to hot wire a car?" Byakuya voiced out his question from the back of his mind. He was greeted with the most beautiful smile from Rukia as she laughed slightly. Her violet eyes captivated him from the gentle warmth that shown from them.

"Again, you continue to underestimate me, Kuchiki Byakuya."

That was the moment that Byakuya realized….

He would do anything to keep her smiling that smile.

* * *

**Woo Hoo! **

**That was so much fun! **

**Definitely wanted to try out some different ideas within this story, and why not!? This is a writer's playground, is it not!? :D :D**

**In this A/N I want to actually call out my favorite reviewers, because they are awesome and they keep me motivated to write this thing.**

**_Ceiyn-  
_****Thank you so much! Yeah, with Monster I really wanted to work with a Byakuya that had a more visible soft side with Rukia, because I personally find it adorable. He's obviously not as open with strangers, but I'm just getting into his interactions with other characters, so it's something that I will have to work on. ^^; I have actually taken your advice and started thinking more on the surroundings of the scenes that I'm imagining! Thank you! I wouldn't have thought of it because I'm always concentrating on the actual emotions and thought processes of the characters. So it's helped already! If you have any more tips, that would be awesome! I love reading them! **

**_Arlingtonsteward-  
_****Aww! Thank you for your wonderful comments! I'm happy that their thoughts are actually coming out coherently and not jumbled like I was scared they would be. I hope this longer chapter is better than the last! It took awhile to make it flow the way I wanted it too. But Oh well! I know I want to give Rukia a hug too! I make Rukia's past always so dark because I have a feeling that it's more like ****_Rukia._**** To go through a tragedy but is able to still live a life in happiness and optimism… I actually admire that quality about her. It's somewhat inspirational to me… I don't know… maybe I'm getting to close to fictional characters. Ha! (Guilty as charged…)**

**_Luci06 –  
_****I swear to God it amazes me that you review every single chapter of both Monster and this story. Thank you. So much. You always make me smile when I see your reviews. Renji and Rukia's scene was one of my favorite scenes to write so far. I actually couldn't stop laughing because I was imagining this whole scene and it was absolutely flawless. Ha-ha. I'm so vain. Sorry. I've been getting a lot of comments on my characterization of Byakuya and Rukia, and I really love to delve deep into what's actually going on through their heads. I'm totally an inner mind freak, I love psychology. I've also wanted to work with it in an AU where Byakuya doesn't have that past relationship with Hisana. Because I believe that Rukia and Byakuya have such raw chemistry that it's hard not to show it. To me anyway. :D I hope you liked this chapter! The flashbacks were my favorite parts to write!**

**_VKLOREO23 –  
_****I'm glad that you are excited about my story! It makes me so happy! Thank you so much for your compliments! I love it! I hope you liked this last chapter!**

**BexBluedragon –  
Glad you love this story! I'm really excited about my future chapters, because I definitely want to continue adding action scenes and a bit more gore. I love graphicness… K I hope that the scenes are making sense though, I am finding that it is a bit difficult describing actions scenes… Oh well.**

**Thank you to everyone that has been reviewing and following this little story of mine! Sorry for the long AU… Just wanted to give my thanks and comments! **

**But please continue to give feedback! I love reading what you guys have to say! I can't tell you how much it motivates me! **

**Until next time**

**`GrandDuchess**


	4. The Safehouse

**Hey all!**

**I'm so happy that I got time to finish up this pesky chapter, even though it's a bit short.**

**It really starts up the plot for this story so it was a bit fun to write in all the angst. **

**I want to take a moment and thank everyone that reviewed my last chapters, you guys are the reason I keep going! **

**(vicky73, arlingtonsteward, ReckoningDay, BexBluedragon, ceiyn, LuciL06, Nuez, VKLOREO23, PAMILA DE CASTRO, and those 8 guests out there! **(You know who you are :D ) **) **

**All of you are amazing and everyone that followed/ favorited or even read this thing are amazing!**

**So thank you all, I love you, and you keep me inspired to write…**

**But please keep me inspired and write me some reviews, including critiques! **

**NOW!**

**On with the story!**

**`GrandDuchess**

* * *

Rukia reached her hand through the carelessly open window of the old red truck. Byakuya and Renji were beside her keeping an eye out for unwanted attention. Wasting no time, Rukia jumped in and started working on stripping the wires down below. Sparks could be seen from under the dashboard. Rukia had a gentle grasp on the wires and was lightly tapping them together until the vehicle roared to life.

"I'm going to be honest; I had my doubts that you could do it."

Rukia heard Renji from the floor of the truck.

She rolled her eyes and got out of the running vehicle.

"I've been living and surviving on the streets my entire life." Rukia noticed Byakuya bristle slightly when she spoke... "I know how to hot wire a _truck._" she finished as she brought her eyes back to Renji.

"Yeah, I guess I keep forgetting that you're into this stuff." Rukia raised an eyebrow.

"_Into this stuff?"_ She repeated in a condescending tone as she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not like I had a choice."

"You didn't?" Rukia heard Byakuya chime in, his voice deep and monotonous. She looked at him as he spoke. His grey eyes were locked upon hers and made her uncomfortable in a flustered and embarrassed way.

"I would if I were a sociopath." She retorted. "I couldn't sit back and do nothing when I knew the truth." She turned away and threw her stuff in the back of the truck and went back to sit properly in the driver's seat. "I like to go to bed at night knowing I did something to save someone rather than ignoring it because of my own safety." She shut the door behind her effectively cutting off any response the two may have had and waited for the two men to get into the extend a-cab themselves.

* * *

Byakuya sat in the front seat of the obnoxiously loud truck as Rukia drove on. He never did like trucks. They were too big and brutish. He preferred his vast array of swift and smaller luxury sports cars. Rukia seemed to be more comfortable like this; when she was in his Audi, she acted a bit constrained and awkward. He was learning more and more about her as he spent time with her like this. Even if he didn't show it, he was enjoying this… a lot.

"I don't remember seeing a safehouse in this location on your reports." Byakuya watched as Rukia tensed slightly before responding.

"I didn't think it wise to report _everything_ back to you guys." Rukia turned to look at him briefly before returning her eyes to the road. "If you haven't noticed, I have slight trust issues."

"You couldn't trust your superiors?" Byakuya asked with an eyebrow raised.

Rukia looked at him with an expression akin to astonishment.

"Before this shit storm you so graciously gave us, I didn't know any of my superiors. You guys were like shadows lurking in the backdrop as we hunters did all the work. I would receive text messages in the dead of night with a location from you guys and report back via text after completing the job… and that was it. That was my contact with you people…" Rukia paused as Renji and Byakuya looked at her slightly ashamed. "You know what, now that I think about it, there was absolutely _nothing_ that benefited me when I reported back to you guys. There was no tactical support, no backup, you people didn't even bother yourself with giving a heads up as to… I don't know… _what _the fuck I would be dealing with." Rukia's voice was rising and she was tensing up as she drawled on with her argument, each word was a low blow to Byakuya. He felt like he was being scolded by his grandfather again. "Before I was '_promoted'…" _Rukia looked at Byakuya as the word came out of her mouth like it was bad joke. Even though it kind of was, he knew. "I didn't realize how much headquarters thinks that Hunters are a fucking joke. That we don't do shit in your organization, that we are just in the way, or that we need to be coddled like a child. But let me get something straight, while you two pansies are sitting here listening… If you ever look down on _me _or the people that I _do_ trust, your definition of hell will be completely different after I'm done with you." Her gaze was intense as she looked at Byakuya, then she moved her eyes to Renji through the rearview mirror.

Byakuya didn't know what to say. She was completely right, and it sickened him. The council looked down on hunters as if they were bumbling imbeciles, and Byakuya had the same viewpoint. He hated them. They were dirty to him, all of them… except Rukia.

Hunters weren't _bred_ the same. Hunters were laymen humans that came across hard times, like Rukia, whereas Byakuya came from an exceptionally long line of Demon Slayers. Byakuya received training, weapons, and demon textbooks from the start. Rukia was thrown into this… like most Hunters.

Byakuya started wondering who truly was stronger, the ones who were gracefully trained, or the ones who had to survive after their world was pulled from under them.

The only thing that could be heard was the engine of the truck as the awkward silence enfolded the trio.

Byakuya was still at a loss for words, he didn't know what would comfort her. He was always horrible at human interaction.

"You can trust me." Byakuya's eyes widened slightly as he heard Renji's voice in the cab of the vehicle. Renji had a sincere expression upon his features as he looked at Rukia from the small backseat. Rukia turned her head and faced him with a small smile upon her face.

Byakuya kept silent in the front passenger seat, with a strange feeling gnawing away at his insides.

He crossed his arms as he turned toward the window.

_'Insolent brat.' _He inwardly scoffed.

* * *

"UGH, finally… My legs are too damn long for this back seat." Renji said loudly as Rukia killed the engine.

Rukia chuckled at his outburst as she got of the vehicle. It had been about an hour of driving before they finally made it. Rukia looked around at the place. It was a small cabin deep in the backwoods. Which was perfect, Rukia didn't like unknown visitors. The foliage had taken the building over, it was covered in thick ivy and the massive trees had left leaves caking the ground.

_'Was it autumn already?' _Rukia thought to herself as she grabbed her stuff and walked to the door. The boys were behind her when Byakuya stopped her.

"Do others know about this place?" His hand was on her shoulder, as he turned her to face him. He looked down and she followed his gaze down to the ground.

_Tire tracks_.

They were old, but not that old from the looks of it. Maybe a week. Rukia couldn't accurately judge because she didn't know the past weather conditions.

Rukia grabbed her pistol from the side pocket of her pack and brought it forth. Renji started toward the back but not before Rukia stopped him.

"If there is someone, wait before you drop them, this place _is _known by few, it could be someone I know."

"And if it's a demon?" He asked.

"I don't know… Ask how it's feeling, maybe that'll help …" She paused as Renji looked at her confused after she spoke. "You shoot it you dumbass!" Rukia slapped him hard on the arm.

"Ouch! Okay okay! Yeesh." Renji rolled his eyes as he continued onward. Rukia shook her head in amazement. He could be a real ditz sometimes.

"Really? A lieutenant?" She looked at Byakuya with concern and surprise. Byakuya ignored her.

"It could be Ichigo. I somewhat recognize these tracks, but I'm not entirely sure." Rukia bent down again as she observed closer. The treading reminded her of Ichigo's hot rod, she was always really weird about observing details. But it could just be wishful thinking.

She missed the hot head.

She sighed and stood up again and headed toward the cabin. Gently Rukia stepped on the rickety porch, and readied her weapon. The vehicle was obviously not here but that didn't mean there weren't other people. Rukia kneeled beside the doormat and grabbed the spare key. She checked the door, still locked.

Quickly she unlocked it and opened the door with her gun raised.

There was no one.

The small cabin still had that undeniable smell of aged wood and moth balls. The floor creaked underneath Rukia as she stepped inside quickly albeit cautiously. There were only three more doors in the small cabin, one for the bathroom and two more for the other rooms. The kitchen was small and contained a wood stove for the brutal winters of the north. Rukia checked the remaining rooms and found no one. Relieved, she walked out of one of the guest rooms to the living area, where Byakuya stood waiting.

"All clear."

Byakuya nodded.

"I'll go get the angry pineapple." Rukia said as she passed Byakuya and headed toward the front door.

"Angry pineapple?" Byakuya eyebrows rose in confusion.

Rukia looked back at him.

"Yeah, Renji… you know his hair…" Rukia started making weird gestures with her hands at the top of her head. "It looks like the top of a pineapple. And he's always so hot headed…" Rukia went silent as she heard an unmistakable chuckle coming from Byakuya. Byakuya tried to cough in place but Rukia felt the corners of her mouth curl up in a smile. She giggled when Byakuya turned his head away from her gleeful gaze upon hearing his chuckle.

"Why are you embarrassed? This is good!" Rukia beamed. "And here I thought you were some robot!" Rukia slapped his arm as she giggled and turned back to go retrieve Renji. She liked Byakuya's laugh. She inwardly hoped to hear it again.

* * *

Byakuya looked at the doorway where Rukia had just left. His hand still suspended in air as he halted himself from stopping her. He didn't know what was coming over him.

She was adorable.

Her tinted cheeks as she hesitantly explained herself, her puffed out lips and furrowed eyebrows as she described Renji's hair, her adorable game of charades as her hands flailed back and forth above her head… All of it left Byakuya in a trance; he couldn't help but chuckle at her antics. He immediately regretted it and tried to replace it with a cough but it was all futile.

The look she gave him was so simple and easy, but heart stopping.

Her eyes were squinted slightly as she smiled slyly at him for catching him in an out of character moment. The giggle that bubbled up from her almost made Byakuya smile again, but he kept it under control as he turned in embarrassment. Byakuya turned back as she started talking and felt her slap him in humor as she turned to go get the '_angry pineapple'_ in question. He couldn't stop himself as he felt his hand rise and almost grab Rukia's and pull her back, he didn't want her to leave; he wanted to keep seeing that smile and those enchanting eyes. However, she didn't notice as she happily left the small cabin.

She was doing strange things to him.

* * *

Rukia went into the back room after they all settled into the cabin. Rukia was trying to come up with a plan of attack. She didn't know what the world was truly like now, she needed to reach some of her previous contacts, and she couldn't trust Byakuya to tell her everything he knew… which hurt her. She wanted to trust him, on some level. But he proceeded to act guarded and tight lipped. If she was going to trust him, he needed to actually trust her on some level.

Her entire time at HQ and he never sought her out, never took the time to actually figure her out, but he seemed to know her. He must've had a file on her.

Rukia was plain frustrated. With everything that was going on around them that she knew nothing about. She hated being useless.

And that's how she felt… useless.

With a sigh Rukia walked to the far wall where a faint mark lay. To the untrained eye, it looked like a scuff on the wood. But Rukia put it there, purposely. Her hand lay on the mark as she closed her eyes in concentration. A circular arcane symbol suddenly appeared on the wall beneath her hand, glowing in an intense blue with ancient text surrounding the interior of the glowing disk. The air grew thin and Rukia's hair started swaying with the subtle force.

Rukia opened her eyes as the symbol grew and she stepped back, waiting.

* * *

Byakuya was sitting at the table cleaning his gun when he felt it.

He abruptly stood and started toward the door that Rukia had recently entered.

"O-oi, what's wrong?" He heard Renji behind him get up in concern, but Byakuya didn't respond. He threw the door open and found Rukia standing at the far wall with an illuminating seal highlighting her features before her.

"What the hell!?" Renji said loudly as he stood behind Byakuya.

Rukia finally turned, almost bored as she looked at the both of them.

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Rukia said as she turned again and stepped up to the seal, it wasn't large, big enough where it's glow illuminated the room but the seal itself didn't cover the full wall.. "I'm not the only one that uses this safe house you see…" Rukia reached her hand into the seal as if it were water. Her forearm vanished into the wall and she twisted it clockwise halfway before the click. Rukia removed her hand and stepped away again as the circle grew and turned transparent, where a new room could be seen.

"_Taichou…. I thought hunters weren't capable of the demon arts?" _ Byakuya listened to Renji whisper close to his face. He was right, it took many years to master spells and seals, but Rukia obviously showed no problems with performing an unsealing, even though basic. When he observed her reports, Rukia hadn't used demon magic in battle, and he wouldn't dream that she could be capable of such a thing. Byakuya himself was a master but never expected Rukia to even have a clue as to what it was.

He truly did underestimate her.

"Where did you learn that?" Byakuya finally said after the seal was fully removed. A large hole in the wall was now apparent; it was traced with a subtle glowing light as it entered into a void zone.

Rukia looked back again at him. She shrugged her shoulders.

"An old wise man."

Why didn't she want him to know? Did she not trust him?

"_Rukia…"_Byakuya insisted.

"What's it matter to you?" Rukia asked with an eyebrow raised.

Renji piped up. "The demon arts are incredibly difficult to overcome, and take a lot of time to learn, yet _you_ know how to use them, obviously."

"Why do you find it so unbelievable that I know them? Renji, you know of it correct?" Rukia crossed her arms over her small chest and threw her hip out as she spoke. Byakuya looked over to Renji.

Renji bristled a little and flustered out an answer.

"W-well yeah, but I suck at it… I'm really only good with melee attacks and non-magic items. But how did you know that I knew of it?" Renji countered.

Rukia rolled her eyes.

"The tattoo on your left shoulder is a ward… that's how."

Renji's eyes widened as he looked to his shoulder. "It is!?"

Byakuya looked at Renji in subtle obviously shared his thoughts as her face was blanched when she looked at Renji in shock as well.

"You didn't know!? Are you a complete dumbass!?" Rukia began shouting at him. Byakuya had to admit, his lieutenant could be a bit… dumb.

"I THOUGHT IT LOOKED COOL!" Renji yelled back.

Rukia slapped her forehead and sighed in exasperation. "_My God…"_ She put her hand down again. "I was wondering why you were warding yourself from fairies, I didn't want to ask and bring back a bad experience or something… but I guess it's because you're just an idiot." Byakuya nodded slightly, he also noticed the strange tattoo before, but didn't care enough to ask.

Renji's face grew red as he huffed in embarrassment.

Rukia turned around and headed into the void room, Byakuya followed while Renji still was wearing his face of red.

"Why did you void out this room?" Byakuya asked.

"Like I said before, this cabin isn't mine. I share it with a multitude of Hunters, however for the things I don't want to share, I store in here. Only Ichigo and I know of it." Rukia walked up to a table that was placed in the center of the room. Weapons were organized on the walls and cabinets that surrounded the room. On the table was an array of various items that included journals, radios, and other miscellaneous items.

Rukia turned toward a desk at the far end of the room. A computer lay atop it with books and random papers. Rukia immediately sat at the desk chair and turned the computer system on.

"Checking your facebook?" Renji asked sarcastically.

"What's a facebook?" Rukia looked back at him with her eyebrows furrowed.

"How do you not know what _facebook_ is?" Renji leaned down and questioned.

"At least I know a ward when I see one." She snapped back as she continued clicking on various things on the computer.

"Shut up Rukia!" He yelled at her. Byakuya was starting to get a headache with all of their bickering. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What _are _you doing Rukia?" Byakuya finally spoke as they glared at each other. She turned in subtle surprise as if she didn't know he was there.

"O-oh, I'm checking if Ichigo came by. We have this thing we do. It's like video diaries when we aren't together. It's only if we have no other means of communication." Byakuya thought back to the Cell phone Rukia threw out the window of his car. That must've been her only means of communication with him at the time.

"Oh, that's cute… a diary with your boyfriend." Renji said in a 'cutesy' voice and grinned at Rukia mockingly. Byakuya watched as Rukia gritted her teeth, jumped up, and punched Renji in the face effectively knocking him to the ground. Renji started groaning.

"OWW! That hurt like a motherfuc-"

"Be thankful it wasn't my foot kicking your… what did you call them again? Oh yeah your _Sacred jewels…_" Rukia interrupted as she leaned down toward him.

_Sacred Jewels? What on earth were they going on about?_ Byakuya was thoroughly confused by this point.

"You're fucking crazy!" Renji yelled as he held his face and started scooting backwards away from Rukia.

"What are sacred jewels?" Byakuya asked as he continued observing the two bickering. Rukia turned toward him about to explain, but Renji jumped up and grabbed Rukia from behind, effectively covering her mouth with his hand as his other arm wrapped around her waist. Rukia's eyes squinted dangerously and she started trying to pull off Renji's hand from her mouth.

Byakuya went from calm to severely irritated in that second. Renji was completely oblivious as he was concentrated on the petite woman in his arms struggling against his hold, yelling at her to not continue talking. Rukia suddenly tripped him with her legs by twisting them with his and pulling forward. They both went to the ground, Renji's hand still covering Rukia's mouth, but in the moment of confusion Rukia bit down on his hand and he hollered as Rukia elbowed him in the gut while they were on the ground, but Renji grabbed her ankle as she tried to get away effectively pulling her back to him. They both were laughing now as they wrestled on the floor. Byakuya hadn't known rage like this before.

"**Enough.**" Byakuya's voice bellowed through the room as he dropped his tone to a deathly low octave. Rukia and Renji looked up from their tangled position on the floor. Rukia's hand was pushing Renji's face away and his arms were wrapped around her torso. Byakuya couldn't understand why he was so enraged at seeing Renji touching Rukia. But it was true, he _was_ angry.

_He_ should be the_ only_ one that could touch her.

Byakuya shook his head at the revelation.

Did he really feel this way? No, feel this close to her? He shouldn't have any say as to who touches her… He wasn't in any kind of relationship with her…

"Sorry Taichou…. We were just playing around. These are serious times and we should be more appropriate." Renji interrupted his thoughts. Byakuya ignored him and walked up to Rukia and helped her up off the floor. Rukia took the hand that he held down to her. Her hand was small and soft, and it fit perfectly in Byakuya's much larger one.

"Thanks, Byakuya." Rukia got up from the wooden floor and started brushing off after she let go of Byakuya's hand.

He could still feel the warmth from where her delicate fingertips brushed against his. He wished that he could just hold it again, even for a moment.

He really was losing it.

Rukia turned away, completely oblivious as to the inner war was creating within Byakuya.

* * *

"Ah. Looks like Ichigo really was here." Rukia sat back down on the seat of the desk and clicked on an unopened file.

A new window popped up on the screen as Rukia heard Byakuya and Renji walk up to the computer where Rukia was now sitting. All of a sudden Ichigo appeared in the window, sitting in the very seat Rukia was sitting in.

He looked wore out, like all the energy was drained from him. His hair was a mess and dark circles where underneath his eyes. He looked like he hadn't showered for awhile either.

Rukia grew increasingly anxious as the video continued.

_"Rukia… It's been about 3 weeks after you left… and holy shit…" _

Rukia watched as he stopped speaking, bringing a hand to his mouth and closing his eyes, as if he were to throw up.

He cleared his throat before continuing.

"_If you're watching this, get out Rukia, just get hunkered… this isn't anything to mess around with. I mean it Rukia."_

Rukia's eyes widened as she listened… Ichigo wasn't like this. He was the lets fight our way through type. Nothing every stopped him, let alone scared him.

_"I'm going to try to get to the warehouse, but Rukia if it's as bad as it's been… don't go looking for me… __**fuck**__…."_

He started choking on sobs… and Rukia could feel tears welling up.

"_I don't know what's happening… nowhere is safe… everyone's __**dead**__."_

He kept sobbing into the microphone. Rukia was frantic… What the hell was going on? She brought a hand to her mouth as a gasp threatened to escape. This was too much… she needed to find him.

"_Nothing fucking works on these things! They aren't like the others! And it's so hard Rukia! It's so hard killing something…" _He paused. "… **_someone _**_you once knew." _

Rukia heart plummeted.

What did he mean by that?

"_Jesus fucking __**Christ**__!"_

He yelled and started throwing books on the ground… Books Rukia hadn't even noticed were out of place until she looked and sure enough, they were exactly where they were left in the video. Rukia turned her head back to the screen. His emotions were pouring out of him, this wasn't like Ichigo… this was serious…

_"I don't have much time; the sun's going down… don't go outside at night Rukia… This isn't a joke… __**Do not**__ go out at night." _

He paused as he looked dead into the camera… Rukia almost didn't recognize him.

_"Please… __**be safe**__."_

His eyes were completely drained of life.

As if he didn't have hope anymore.

As if he had died.

Then the video stopped.

The room was deathly quiet, as Rukia tried to regain her strength to even speak.

She turned to Byakuya.

"What the fuck are you not telling me?"

* * *

"You better start giving me some fucking answers, Kuchiki."

Byakuya didn't know what to tell her…

He didn't know what to tell her because…

He didn't know what Kurosaki Ichigo was speaking about.

He hadn't heard anything like what this kid was describing, Byakuya was legitimately confused.

_"Rukia_…. I…"

"_Don't lie to me._" Byakuya painfully watched as tears started streaming down her face. He didn't want her to be like this… He wanted to stop the tears from falling. Her fists were welled up at her sides and her eyes were full of anger and… hurt.

"I swear to you that I do not know what he was talking about. Rukia you need to believe me."

"Why should I?" Rukia shouted. "All you ever did my entire time at HQ was ignore me or lie to me!"

"When did I lie to you Rukia?"

"Oh! I don't know… Maybe as to the _reason_ I was even there in the first place!" Rukia stepped closer to him… Byakuya noticed Renji leaving the void room, which made Byakuya more comfortable, He would rather his lieutenant not see him emotionally compromised. "Why was I there? You never sought my help on _any_ of the cases, never came to me once… for anything, placed me in beginners classes so I could waste time, I mean the whole thing was a god damn JOKE!" Byakuya narrowed his eyes as he watched her yell at him.

He didn't want her to get hurt.

That's why he brought her there.

He anticipated something was going to happen… he didn't know what, or that it was going to be at this level, but he just wanted to make sure she was safe.

"I don't get it, Byakuya…" She looked broken as she continued. "_Why?"_

He couldn't stand it anymore.

"I didn't want you getting hurt." His voice was almost inaudible as he spoke.

"What?" Rukia looked up again at him.

He spoke slightly louder.

"I didn't want you getting hurt… Rukia."

Rukia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She didn't speak, only waited for him to clarify.

"Rukia… do you… remember me?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What are you talking about?" She snapped.

"We've met before all of this."

Her eyes widened as she listened.

"When?"

Byakuya paused… He didn't want to answer this right now. He had hoped that she would remember him, but didn't expect her to. He didn't speak to her long that night so long ago… only for a few moments before she was whisked away by the Shadow Squad.

But… Byakuya didn't have a choice… Now wasn't the time to fool her, she needed to hear the truth from him.

"I was there the night your family died."

* * *

**YAHOO! **

**Ahhh that was satisfying… **

**Cliffies anyone!? Hahaha I'm sorry… it was just too good to not place… **

**If anyone has any questions or just want to give me a comment, heck, please do! **

**Also, it would be greatly appreciated if you would give me a heads up as to errors. It's late here… and I'm tired. **

**X|**

**I'm really getting into this little story of mine; I hope it's all making some sense so far! **

**Well, until next time.**

**`GrandDuchess**


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